WHAT!? You Mean There Really Was Slavery Up North?
And White slaves, too!?

Interesting little article from the AP. Here's some of it; (Emphasis mine) RI closer to changing state name over slavery

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The country's smallest state has the longest official name: "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations."

A push to drop "Providence Plantations" from that name advanced farther than ever on Thursday when House lawmakers voted 70-3 to let residents decide whether their home should simply be called the "State of Rhode Island." It's an encouraging sign for those who believe the formal name conjures up images of slavery, while opponents argue it's an unnecessary rewriting of history that ignores Rhode Island's tradition of religious liberty and tolerance.

In 1663, English King Charles II granted a royal charter joining all the settlements into a single colony called "The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." The name stuck. Rhode Island used that royal charter as its governing document until 1843.

Opponents of the name charge argue that "plantations" was used at the time to describe any farming settlements, regardless of slavery.

Still, Stanley Lemons, a professor emeritus of history at Rhode Island College, said changing the state's name ignores the accomplishments of [colony founder, Roger] Williams, whose government passed laws trying to prevent the permanent servitude of whites, blacks and American Indians. More politically correct nonsense. Doesn't their state government have more important things to do?

And with apologies (not really) to historical revisionists, the fact of the matter is, not one single slave was freed by the Emancipation Proclomation. That pronouncment was the biggest public relations coup since the so-called Tonkin Gulf Incident.